Clash of Dimensions
by Darien Fawkes
Summary: My version of "Clash of the Red Rangers".  A deadly threat crosses dimensions forcing Rangers from two different universes to band together to defeat a common foe.
1. Chapter 1

**Legal:** I do not own Power Rangers or the associated names, characters, events, places etc. Anything else should be presumed to be the sole creation of the author.

**Rating: **T-May be some adult themes and language.

December in the city of Corinth was the one and only time of year that it actually snowed. Being a domed city, one of the luxuries was that everything, even the weather was controllable. They always restricted snow to a couple of weeks across the holiday period for the kids, so that they would have a White Christmas.

It had been almost a year since they had given up their morphers for what they had all believed was the last time. The final battle had been hard, and they were all glad when it was over, believing that Venjix was gone for good and that they could finally get on with their lives. Of course, things were not so simple. They rarely were in the real world, and as it turned out, Venjix had a backup plan. Just before the command centre fell onto his automated body and destroyed him, he had activated a wireless download to the nearest piece of technology that could take his central command code. That just so happened to be the Red Ranger's morpher.

Dr. K had taken the morphers from the Rangers when the mission was over, with every intention of storing them away for posterity. Originally she wanted to put them in a vault, deep beneath the Earth, and seal it forever, thus ensuring they would never see the light of day again, but the prominent families of Corinth had different plans. As the world was rebuilt, they wanted to create a museum to commemorate the past, and to honour the Rangers. Despite her protests, Corinth's parliament ruled that the Ranger technology was far too important as a historical artefact and forced her to place them in a museum exhibit. Unfortunately that was where things started to go wrong. Once they were placed in the exhibit, complete with security technology linked up to the web, Venjix uploaded himself to the system.

He didn't have full access to the forces he once had. In the year since his defeat, the world was slowly but surely being reclaimed, and so most of his then-inert facilities had been destroyed, but it seemed that Venjix had always had a contingency plan. His deadliest creation, one that apparently even he didn't trust to operate while he was in control, and only intended to activate as a last resort, had been awakened. Professor Cog had been waging an unrelenting war on the city since then.

Summer was sitting by the pool table, playing absent-mindedly with one of the pool balls while they waited. Colonel Hicks had been summoned to the Garage by Dr. K while she analysed data from their battle with Professor Cog. It was rare that he ever faced them himself; he was the only vessel for what remained of Venjix's master code, so he generally sent drones into battle, being reluctant to risk Venjix's existence. When they saw that he had left the compound and was headed for Corinth, the Rangers were only too quick to confront him, hoping to end the war once and for all.

"What's taking them so long?" Flynn sighed, running his hands through his hair as he paced intently. He was as impatient as the others to hear what Dr. K had to say on what had happened. Scott just put a hand on his shoulder.

"You know my wife." He reminded him. "She'll tell us what's going on once she figures it out."

Summer just went back to her little game, rolling the ball and bouncing it off the cushions carelessly. She, like the others, was becoming impatient. None of their scanners had registered any sign of Professor Cog once he disappeared, and they had a range of a few hundred miles. It was like he had literally disappeared. If that was the case, they would all be happy to return to their lives, but the fact was that without confirmation, none of them were ready to celebrate.

Mayor Truman and Vasquez came into the Garage, taking off his sunglasses as he did so. He had retired from the military after the initial victory over Venjix, and entered politics, winning the mayoral election by a landslide. As the "Hero of Corinth", it was a foregone conclusion; rumour had it even his opponent had voted for him. Vasquez had also left the military, and was now his personal bodyguard.

"Are they still in there?" He asked. Scott just nodded.

"She just wants to be thorough." He told his father. "She wants to be sure before she tells us what happened."

Ziggy was sitting on Tenaya's lap, holding their son gently in his arms. Life had been pretty good all things considered for him, and he wanted to keep it that way. In the time since the original war, he had fallen in love with the most amazing woman he had ever met, and he had worked with law enforcement to bring down the cartels. When he got together with Tenaya, that was one of the most amazing things that ever happened to him in his life. Once he knew that little Milo was on the way though, he had worked unendingly to ensure that his son was raised in a better world. Although he had always hoped that retirement was exactly that following his Ranger days, he took up the morpher again without a second thought.

Dillon was over by the weights area, benching ridiculously heavy weights. Although as a result of his implants, his strength was not only augmented, but consistent, it was a pointless endeavour, and he knew it. He would never get any weaker or stronger, but any time he was worried, he always worked out. It was therapeutic to him in a way. As the door to the lab opened, and Dr. K came out with Hicks, they all quickly stopped what they were doing and ran over.

"So what..."

"...happened?" Gem and Gemma asked. Despite everything, even though both had grown and matured, whenever times were stressful, they still reverted to their old ways. Gemma was now married to Hicks, and Gem was a captain in the local law enforcement division of the military, but when the threat of Venjix reared its head, they both regressed to their 'boom twins' mentality.

"I analysed the area, and it seems there is a large concentration of anti matter particles." She informed them.

"Anti-matter?" Flynn asked. "Isn't that the stuff that only exists in a Halon collider?"

"That is affirmative Ranger Blue." She replied. This got all of their attention. Since the final battle, she had started to become more emotionally open, even beginning a relationship with Scott that had ended in their wedding only a couple of months previously. She had stopped referring to the others by their Ranger designations long ago. If she was regressing to that, they were sure something was seriously wrong. "How much do you understand of Quantum Physics and Philosophy?"

"I once saw a few episodes of Quantum Leap." Flynn replied honestly. She just rolled her eyes.

"The term 'Universe' is kind of misleading." She began her explanation. "As you know, there is no such thing as fate. Everything that occurs is a result of active choice. Like on a road, you can go left, or right."

"OK?" Summer asked. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Whenever a decision is made, or a course of action has more than one result, it's kind of like a split in the road." She told them. "There isn't one 'universe'. There are multiple timelines and dimensions. Any time a decision is made or a course of action takes place, a new dimension is created. There are literally billions of dimensions in existence. Each one born from one subtle diversion of causality."

"Does anyone have a co-coda mol?" Flynn sighed. "I'm getting a headache just thinking about it."

"The presence of anti-matter within our universe shows that Professor Cog has jumped across the space-time continuum to another dimension." Dr. K stated. "Whatever he is planning there, he has to be stopped."

"So how are we meant to get there?" Dillon asked her, racking his weights and playing with his wedding ring. "I mean, if it is another dimension..."

"I have been working on new software for the Paleomax Megazord." She replied. "It should allow you to take a train ride into another dimension."

"Well, you said it yourself, there are billions of dimensions." Flynn added. "How can we be sure to find the right one?"

"I tracked the energy signatures across the space/time continuum." She answered. "Your weapons fire signatures have only appeared in one other, so I am confident that is the right one."

"Alright, let's move out." Scott replied.

"Wait!" Hicks blurted out. "Professor Cog isn't the only threat. We can't leave the city unprotected."

"Gem, Gemma, you will remain behind." Dr. K told the twins. "You can form a megazord by yourselves. You are the logical choice to remain. Everyone else will go."

"So...how are we getting there again?" Ziggy asked.

"You're taking the train." Dr. K reminded him. As they all filed in the direction she indicated, Flynn came up to Scott's side.

"Does it not freak you out when she seems to know everything?" Flynn asked him. Scott just smiled.

"You have no idea." He replied.

In their own dimension, the Samurai Rangers were training in the dojo. Due to the weather, training outside was not an appealing option. As they were working hard, the Gap Sensor sounded, and Serena ran into the dojo.

"Guys, something freaky is going on." She told them. "The Gap Sensor is going mental, but there are no Netherworld energy signatures anywhere."

Jayden was puzzled by this turn of events. The Gap Sensors were only meant to indicate Nighlock attacks. He had no idea what, if anything, they were sounding for, but he knew one thing. If the Gap Sensors were sounding, then it couldn't be good.

"We'll figure that out later." Jayden told her. "In the meantime, guys, let's move out!"

It wasn't long afterwards that the Rangers arrived on a motorway overpass, only to find no Nighlocks in sight. There weren't even moogers. They saw a bunch of...things...attacking motorists. They didn't know what they were, but they seemed to be some form of robots.

"OK, so Xandred's caught up to the 21st century?" Mike asked as they arrived, hearing the bleeping and electronic sounds coming from the creatures before them.

"They don't seem so tough." Kevin commented. "Look at them, their attack patterns are so rigid and mechanical. You can see their attacks coming a mile away!

"Well, let's wrap this up quickly then." Mike commented, rushing forward with his spin-sword at the ready. "Let's turn these things into..."

As he spun around, and his spin sword connected with the breast plate of the first of the grinders, it just stopped dead. The robot looked down to the blade, which had only managed to cause a superficial nick in its breast plate, before looking back up to him.

"OK, that can't be good." Mike commented as it raised its weapon. "Oh fu..."

He was blasted back, landing in a heap several feet away.

"Mike!" Emily screamed, seeing her boyfriend smacked down so dismissively.

"Concentrate." Jayden told her as he turned his Spin Sword into the Fire Smasher and charging the cogs with a savage battle cry.

In another part of town, Bulk was heading to the supermarket for some supplies when the level crossing barrier came down. He looked either way, seeing no signs of a train coming.

"Great." He muttered. "Another pointless waste of..."

Just then, there was a loud explosion and a huge flash of blinding light, at which a strange looking train appeared before him. Each of the carriages looked like a dinosaur of some description. He watched as five Rangers stepped off the train.

"Alright, Dr. K was worried about air quality." Scott stated. "What's the story Flynn?"

The Blue Ranger held up a device, sweeping it around, before looking to it and nodding.

"The air's fine." Flynn told him. "We're fine to de-morph."

With that, they all de-morphed, taking up their civilian forms and the train disappeared. Bulk got out of the car, his mouth hanging open in shock.

"You...you...you're Power Rangers!" He stammered. Dillon just approached him, patting him on the shoulder.

"I'd recommend you don't drive for the rest of the day." He commented. Scott's morpher bleeped, and he checked the readout.

"There's Venjix activity less than a mile away." He told them.

"I'll say." Summer replied, pointing to an overpass as an explosion sounded. They all ran off in the direction of the battle.

"Didn't that guy look a lot like President Bulkmeyer?" Ziggy asked as they ran towards the overpass.

"Don't be daft Ziggy." Flynn commented. "What would the last President be doing driving around in a Skoda?"

Back at the sight of the battle, the Samurai Rangers were giving the Grinders everything they had. They were far more skilled than their mechanical opponents. Their attacks, as Kevin had pointed out, were rigid, mechanical, and predictable, while the Samurai were skilled martial artists. Unfortunately though, that was where they had their sole advantage. Their opponents were not falling to their attacks, at least, not for long. The moogers were organic creatures; they had pain receptors, meaning that they felt pain. These robots however, did not, and far from being merely armoured opponents, where one could hope to find a chink in the armour and strike a vital organ, they had no organs.

Jayden alone was managing to actually take some down. His fire smasher, by nature of its sheer weight, was smashing the robots apart. They were overwhelmed though, and exhaustion was becoming a factor. Jayden knew that sooner or later, they would be over run.

"Hey, you look like you could use a little help!" He heard someone shout. He looked up to see a group of people, all wearing leather jackets standing ready.

"I don't know who you are, but..."

"RPM Get in Gear!" They all called out, morphing into Ranger form. The Samurai Rangers all stood, looking on in awe.

"Mike, you're the Ranger geek." Kevin commented. "Who are these guys?"

"I have absolutely no idea." He replied as the RPM Rangers pulled out their Nitro Swords and started to plough into the grinders. Unlike the Spin Swords though, they seemed to have no problem in damaging the grinders. Indeed, as soon as the RPM Rangers joined the battle, the grinders fell with almost dismissive ease. The Samurai all assembled, watching as the RPM Rangers smashed the grinders into oblivion.

"OK, is anyone else feeling a little redundant?" Mike asked. Just then, the last of the grinders fell. The RPM Rangers all de-morphed, before heading over to the Samurai.

"So you guys are the Rangers?" Scott asked. Jayden just nodded, at which Scott laughed and patted him on the shoulder. "You're welcome."

"So, is there somewhere we can talk?" Summer asked them.

"Aye." Flynn added. "Preferably somewhere a little less public?"

Mia just pointed the direction of the Shiba House, and they all started to walk. Emily came to her side.

"I didn't understand what he said." She whispered. "But I just LOVE that accent!"

Mia just nodded in agreement as they followed the group.


	2. Cog in the Machine

The eleven Rangers all arrived back at the Shiba House a short time later. As they got there, Serena was in the garden, tending to the plants, just as she had promised Ji she would before he left.

"Wow, when was the last time you saw a garden like this?" Ziggy asked. "I think half these plants are extinct back home."

"Uh...who are they?" Serena asked as she got up gesturing to the RPM Rangers. Ordinarily, not many people came to the Shiba House. It was so important to keep their mission, their war under wraps, that very few people were ever allowed in the grounds. The security symbols hadn't bounced them out, so she knew they were not identified as Nighlocks, but that didn't necessarily mean they were friends.

"Apparently they're Rangers." Jayden informed her. "We've still to hear their side of the story."

As they looked to them though, the RPM Rangers were just looking around in awe. Where they were from, very little of the world had recovered from Venjix's campaign. There were flowers and grass and such like, but trees were rare. They were seeing several species that no longer existed in their own dimension. Certainly no one owned a garden that was quite so picturesque, any cultivatable land was reserved for agriculture.

"Uh...now would be a good time?" Kevin suggested.

"Sorry, but I havnae seen a willow in years." Flynn began. "I'm Flynn McAllister, RPM Blue Ranger."

"Dude, is he speaking the same language?" Mike whispered to Mia. She just shrugged.

"I don't know, but I love the accent." She replied. Kevin looked decidedly less than amused to hear her say this.

"I'm Scott Truman, RPM Red Ranger." Scott introduced himself, offering Jayden a handshake. Jayden reluctantly accepted it. "We're not from around here. In fact, we're not even from this timeline."

"OK, I'll bite." Antonio stated. "What do you mean by that?"

"There's more than one universe." Summer began, looking to Scott as she stepped forward, figuring that of all of them, she was the one they were most likely to listen to. "Any time there's a decision to make, an event that can go one way or another, the universe splits off into different paths..."

"You're talking about the theory of the multiverse." Antonio responded. She just nodded.

"I'm Summer Landsdown..."

"Wait, the Landsdown kid?" Mike asked her. "You're on the fortune 500 list! You expect us to believe the Landsdown Princess is a Power Ranger?"

"Not here." Summer said, looking more than a little annoyed at Mike's undiplomatic comment. "Your priorities kind of change when you see the end of the world."

"Alright, let's step back a moment." Jayden commented. "What happened?"

"I our timeline, a computer programme known as Venjix infected computers all over the world." Scott began to explain. "It was created in Alphabet Soup..."

"Wait, Alphabet Soup?" Antonio asked him. "That place was shut down years ago!"

"What's Alphabet Soup?" Kevin asked him.

"It was in all the tech magazines years ago." Antonio told him. "A corporation, the Macca Group, kidnapped a bunch of kids with extraordinary intelligence and kept them in a bunker under the Nevada Desert. They used them to make weapons systems, but the Government found out about it and arrested them all."

"Not where we came from." Scott informed them. "In our dimension, one of the kids created a computer programme known as Venjix that was meant to be used as a weapon against hostile governments, but she instead used it to try and escape Alphabet Soup."

"She was stopped before she could upload the firewall that would have restrained it to Alphabet Soup." Summer concluded the tale. "Within a year, 98 percent of the world's computer systems were infected, and Venjix took over."

"Venjix started to produce war machines to protect itself." Scott told them. "Before anyone had the chance to pull the plug, about seventy percent of the world's population had been wiped out. Everyone that was left had no option but to retreat to Corinth. We set up a dome and powerful shields and sent out messages for everyone that was left to retreat there. By the time the shields went up, there were less than a million humans left."

"Wow, this sounds a lot like the plot of "Terminator." Mike said with a little laugh. Dillon surged forward before anyone could stop him and grabbed the Green Samurai, lifting him off the ground and pinning him to the wall in an impossibly strong grip.

"This is NO MOVIE!" He roared angrily. Summer came around in front of him.

"Dillon, he doesn't understand." Summer told him.

"Well he better." Dillon sneered. Jayden and the other Samurai were trying to pull him off, but his strength was far too great. "Most of my skeleton looks like a bad copy of the Radio Shack Christmas catalogue. My sister and I are cyborgs because Venjix intended to use us as infiltrators, Trojan Horses against our own race!"

"Dillon!" Flynn protested.

"I don't have one memory that's real beyond three years ago!" He snapped, throwing Mike onto the floor. Emily rushed to his side as he started coughing and fighting for breath. "This is no fucking movie!"

"Back it down Dillon, we're here to help remember?" Scott reminded him. Dillon just cast a little look Mike's way before storming off. "Sorry about him, but he's been...well...let's just say that some people have lost more to Venjix than others."

"Just keep him on a leash." Jayden put down flatly. "That's the first and last time one of your team will put hands on a member of mine."

"Agreed." Ziggy responded, interjecting between them. "So...uh...the one thing we haven't figured out yet is why Professor Cog came here."

"I doubt it'll be long before he makes his intentions clear." Summer told them. "In the meantime, what kind of surveillance do you have here? We'll need to keep a close eye on the city."

"We have Gap sensors." Antonio told them. "Not to mention a direct wire tap into the city's CCTV cameras..."

"Wait, what?" Scott asked. "What are Gap Sensors?"

"You know, Gap sensors." Antonio reiterated. "They monitor gaps...Nighlock can use gaps to create portals from the Netherworld to ours."

The RPM Rangers all turned towards each other and started whispering.

"Uh...mind including us in the discussion?" Kevin asked them. "That's kind of rude."

"In our dimension, there were rumours, but the Samurai Rangers were never active. Venjix destroyed everything before they could become active." Scott explained. "The thing is, we had no idea that the Netherworld existed. It was kind of like a bogeyman or horror story to us."

"There's nothing fictional about Master Xandred." Jayden assured them.

"Well, the thing is, if he does exist, then so does the Sanzu River." Scott told him. "We're not equipped to deal with anything from the Netherworld. To us, it would have been like preparing to be invaded by Easter Bunnies. If he can bring something from there..."

"It'd be just like the problems we had with your goons." Jayden concluded. "We're not equipped to deal with them."

"Let's just hope Master Xandred doesn't play nicely with his latest visitor." Flynn commented. "I doubt an alliance like that would be good for anyone."

Meanwhile, in the Netherworld, Master Xandred was reeling in his agony. His pain and sickness were overwhelming, they always were. If it weren't for Octoroo's medicine, he would likely have succumbed to the first attempt to usurp him years ago. As he reached for a bottle of medicine, a metal hand rested on it, preventing him from picking it up.

"You better talk quickly stranger." He growled. "No one invades my ship without punishment."

"I think you'll make an exception in my case." Professor Cog stated.

"What happened to Octoroo?" Xandred asked him.

"He is unharmed." Professor Cog assured him. "Though it may take him a few hours to swim back to the ship."

Master Xandred's hand strayed to his sword, but Professor Cog just held up a hand.

"Just give me ten minutes, that is all I ask." He stated. Xandred just nodded. "I see you have a problem with Power Rangers."

"If you merely intend to remind me of the cause of my headaches..."

"My footsoldiers handed them a defeat not even three hours ago." He told him. "Ask one of your followers if you do not believe me."

Xandred looked to a mooger, who just nodded and said something in its garbled tongue. He looked back to Professor Cog.

"Your team of Rangers is not equipped to deal with my soldiers." Professor Cog told him. "In my world, we have all but rid the world of the plague of humanity. Less than a million of the vermin remain, but we have reached an impasse of sorts. We cannot penetrate the shields of their remaining city in the numbers required to win a decisive victory, while they do not have the power necessary to destroy us for good."

"Why should that interest me?" Xandred asked him.

"The water of your Sanzu River is toxic to humans." Professor Cog stated. "If we were to use some, to integrate it into Corinth's water supply, the war would be over inside a day."

"Sanzu River water is precious to me." Xandred told him. "I have been spending the last year increasing the river level in an attempt to sail my ship into the land of the living. Why should I spare some for you?"

"I will lend you my forces." Cog told him. "You already know they present the Samurai a significant threat."

"Normally I would insist such an accord is sealed over blood." Xandred rasped as he shifted position, offering him a handshake. "Though I have a feeling you do not possess blood."

"Then this will have to do." Professor Cog replied, shaking his hand.

Meanwhile, in the Dark Zone, Dayu found herself coming over the crest of a hill, finding the only building that she had seen since entering this God Forsaken place. All the fallen Nighlock had no real need of comfort, and so made use of the natural caves and shelters, but this place was built for a purpose. It was a foundry.

It was made of dark stone, and had a number of chimneys protruding from the roof which spewed out black, voluminous smoke. She had seen the smoke long before she had gotten anywhere near the building.

She started to make her way towards it, finding numerous moogers working diligently. They didn't pay her any mind, but upon closer inspection, she saw that even though they were here, indicating they had been destroyed in their previous lives, they were all wearing heavy looking manacles, indicating that they were not working by choice. They were slaves. They were mining metal from a nearby mine built into the side of the mountain, and ferrying it to the foundry. She smirked to see this. It wasn't as though she had any sympathy for the moogers, and since they were not loyal, she could be sure they would not attack her.

Going inside, she heard the ringing of hammers on anvils. This was exactly where she needed to be. As she walked through the gates, more chained up moogers were working at anvils, forging weapons. She had heard legends of the Forgemaster, the Nighlock responsible for constructing the deadliest weapons that had ever been sent against the living world. Rumour had it that this Nighlock had created not only the sword wielded by Master Xandred when he overthrew the last Nighlock King, but also the legendary blade Urumasa.

She found her attention caught by something in the corner. It was a cage that was not fit to hold a dog, with thick, dark metal bars. Inside was a young, human woman. She was barely five and a half feet by the looks of her, but Dayu couldn't tell, since the cage was far too small to let her stretch out, let alone stand up. Her hair was ash blonde, verging on white, and her eyes were crystal blue, but burning with fury. Her face and body were covered with cuts and bruises, indicating that she had been badly mistreated for some time. Her hands were secured together with thick manacles, and a thick, heavy metal collar had been secured around her neck, with a heavy chain leading from it to the wall. Her ankles were secured together with manacles also. Her clothing was filthy, and badly worn.

"Who dares enter my forge!" Dayu heard a harsh voice bellow, shaking the whole building. She was trembling in fear as she heard the voice.

"Forge Master?" She asked.

"Who disturbs my work?" He bellowed again. She could not see him; legend had it that he never faced anyone, using his slaves to deliver his works.

"I come to humbly ask you to repair one of your greatest works." She told him, kneeling on the ground. She unwrapped Urumasa, placing both pieces on the ground. "I have returned it to you in the hope that you can reforge it."

"Why should I do this for you?" He asked. She smiled.

"You know as well as I do that the last bearer of the Cursed Blade has made its edge a thing of legend." She reminded him. "Your creation can either remain scrap metal, or I can use it to find its true owner and allow him to continue to spread the reputation of your legendary creation."

A mooger came and picked up the pieces, taking it away.

"It will take some time." He told her. "Wait here."

She looked to the girl in the cage and felt her curiosity overcoming her.

"Who is she?" Dayu asked him. "I believed that humans could not survive in the Netherworld."

"Normally they can't. She lives because I allow her to." The Forge Master told her. "As to her identity, that is none of your concern. Just satisfy yourself that you are not like her and subject to my mercy, or lack thereof."

A path lit up in an ominous red glow. Dayu just nodded in understanding, and stood up, heading to a parlour where she could wait on the Forge Master repairing the Cursed Blade.

Over in Japan, Ji arrived at the airport, stepping out of the car. Daisuke had allowed one of his disciples to take him to the airport, appreciating that he was eager to return to the Shiba House as quickly as possible.

It had been a long and bizarre journey for him. Ji had expected to come to Japan to seal the fragment of Urumasa in the Kin Vault for all time, to ensure that it would never again be wielded in battle. Unfortunately Dayu's obsession with Dekker had led to her taking it from him. However, even he could not have predicted what would happen next. He had found out the true nature of his family shame, and destroyed the monster that was once his ancestor. In doing so, he had put his spirit to rest.

As he made his way to the customs desk, he pulled out the ancient paintbrush morpher, and laid it on the tray with his wallet and his watch. The guy at the desk just looked to him curiously.

"_I'm an artist_." Ji told him. The customs official looked far from convinced, but strictly speaking there was no law against carrying a paintbrush. It wasn't like it was a deadly weapon or anything. He just shrugged and pushed the tray through the scanner, satisfying himself that there was nothing in his possessions that constituted contraband.

"_Enjoy your flight sir._" He stated.

"_I will._" Ji replied. "_Though I do hope the in-flight movie is an Angelina Jolie picture._"

As he reclaimed his possessions, he put them back into his pocket and picked up his backpack, making his way to the gate. He still had a long way to go, but he was on his way, and he couldn't wait to return to his Rangers.


	3. Switching it up

Antonio and Flynn were walking towards the harbour in the mid afternoon, dragging his cart behind him. They were getting a few curious looks from some of the others at the harbour, who were heading away from the water front to go for something to eat. Antonio had to try his best to act like nothing was untoward.

As a fisherman, he understood why they thought he was acting strangely. A part of fishing, especially in the ocean, was closely studying tidal patterns and understanding how the fish reacted to them. In this harbour, a place he had been fishing more than a few times since he arrived in the city, he knew like everyone else that the tide was heading out, taking the fish with it. No one around here, no one that knew what they were doing anyway, ever fished at this time, and this was usually when they took the opportunity to have some lunch, and he took the opportunity to sell some stock.

"I really hope your plan works Jayden." The Gold Ranger muttered as he took a seat by the dock, casting a line into the water. "If I'm left sitting out here for ages looking like an idiot, I am not going to be happy."

"Oh stop complaining." Flynn chastised him as he selected a rod from Antonio's cart. "It's not like we're really here to catch anything."

"You really don't know a lot about fishing do you?" Antonio asked him. Flynn just shrugged.

"I remember I used to love going fishing on my Uncle Roy's boat on Loch Lomond as a kid." He answered. "We basically did it to spend time with each other, it was really relaxing..."

"You never caught anything did you?" Antonio interrupted him. Flynn shook his head.

"Occasionally one of us would get lucky." Flynn admitted. "The day usually ended with a trip to the local fish and chip shop."

Antonio shook his head, but laughed a little as he heard this, turning his attention back to the water. He had spent a lot of time fishing as a kid. Like Flynn, it was kind of a bonding experience; some of his happiest memories were of times he would go fishing with his dad. It had been a while since he had done that, but he was still happy remembering it.

It turned out that they didn't have long to wait though, and Flynn smiled as he heard some mechanical bleeping sounds behind him. He took a quick look around the harbour, satisfying himself that their plan had worked. One of the reasons he had chosen this particular time of day to come to the harbour and act as live bait was specifically so that the docks would be empty.

"Alright, just stick to the plan." Flynn reminded him.

"Ah, look at what we have here!" A voice stated behind them. Flynn and Antonio turned around, pulling out their morphers.

"Professor Cog I presume?" Antonio asked. Flynn just nodded.

"Yeah, Venjix never did design these things for aesthetics." Flynn commented. "RPM, Get in Gear!"

"Gold Power!" Antonio added. As they both morphed, they watched as dozens of moogers and grinders started to come into view.

"NOW!" Flynn called out, grabbing Antonio. Antonio activated his light-speed as Flynn activated his time freeze, allowing them both to run. Time started to realign itself and Cog started to scan the area.

"You can run, but you can't hide!" He called out, seeing a couple of overturned crates indicating the direction they had run. "Come on!"

Meanwhile, in The Dark Zone, Dayu was waiting impatiently in the Forge Master's forge. She could hear a loud ringing of hammer blows that seemed to shake the very ground, and bright red flashes coming from the direction the cursed blade had been carried.

"How long will this take?" She called out impatiently as she got up, starting to pace. "I have things to do and enemies to destroy!"

"Urumasa was always my finest creation. Forgive me if I wish to ensure the job is done right you insolent wretch!" He called back. "It is time. Bring her!"

Dayu's hand instinctively strayed to the head of her Harmonium, preparing to draw the short sword within should she need to defend herself. As some of the mooger slaves came though, she relaxed when she saw that they were not going for her, but for the girl she had seen chained up in the cage. They opened the cage and dragged her out, detaching the chain connecting her collar to the wall. They hammered home a few attacks just to be sure to prevent her from trying to escape, before dragging her away. Dayu followed, curious as to what they wanted with the mystery captive.

All she could see from where she was standing was a pair of massive, armoured hands, and a large forge hammer working on an anvil as the girl was brought in and forced to her knees before the anvil.

She watched on in interest as one of the moogers pressed a weapon into the prisoner's back, and energy flowed through her. She screamed in agony as bright energy, and flames of an unnatural heat came from her, onto the forge. Urumasa started to glow brightly as the hammer continued to rain down on it, sending sparks flying in all directions. The prisoner was forced again to unleash whatever energy she had into the blade, before collapsing to the floor seemingly unconscious.

"It is almost done." The Forge Master's voice called out. "It just needs one more thing."

A huge hand grabbed one of the moogers, which struggled in vain to escape. She watched as it was torn open, and its dark blood spilled onto the blade to cool it. The sword glowed brightly as he held it up, examining his work. It was done; the blade was whole once more.

"Now, it is true that Dekker was the one most worthy of wielding my masterpiece." He stated. "Still, I have many disciples who could find him. And trespass is a crime for which there can be no mercy."

Dayu had figured that it was only a matter of time before the Forge Master turned on her. She had nothing to offer him for his services, only the promise that she would return the sword to its rightful owner. She knew better than anyone that Nighlock never did anything without a reason; they certainly never made a deal that did not somehow benefit them.

She powered up a blast, sending it forward and sending moogers and tools flying in all directions. She ran into the room, snatching up Urumasa and its scabbard, before looking around frantically for an exit.

She turned in time to see the human girl starting to get up and run in the confusion. She had been here far longer than Dayu, so she reasoned the girl probably knew at least to some extent where there was an exit. Fearing she had no other plan, she followed her.

They found themselves outside, at which Dayu started to look around for a gap. She didn't care where it led right now, she could always look for another one later, but for now all she needed was to escape The Dark Zone, where The Forge Master and his moogers couldn't follow.

She ran for a gap, but was startled as a heavy weight landed on her back. She stumbled, and fell through the gap, finding herself teleported back into the Land of the Living. She didn't know where she was, it was a beach, surrounded by rocky cliffs, by the edge of a crystal blue ocean. She became aware of the weight still on top of her, and started to get up.

She threw the weight off her, and rolled over; snatching up Urumasa, before turning to see that it was the girl from the forge. She had obviously seen Dayu about to use a gap and had grabbed her to hitch a ride back to the human realm.

She was lying, face-down on the ground, unmoving. She had succumbed to injury and exhaustion. Dayu approached her, considering the girl for a moment. She had no idea who she was, or why the Forge Master wanted her. All she knew for sure was that right now, she was no threat to anyone. She looked like she was barely even breathing, likely having been in captivity for some time. She sheathed Urumasa and strapped it to her back, before picking up her Harmonium.

"Now, speak to me." She beckoned the blade. "The sooner I find my love, the better."

With that, she walked off, leaving the girl lying on the beach. She was no concern of hers; fate would decide what to do with her.

Back in the States, Professor Cog arrived in another area of the harbour, finding Flynn and Antonio standing waiting for them. They were flanked on two sides by warehouses, and the ocean was behind them. Professor Cog and his forces started to advance on them intently.

"So much for running." Cog taunted them. "You managed to run straight into a dead end."

"Well a dead end can be called another thing." Flynn told him. "A bottle-neck."

At that point, roller doors on either side opened up, revealing Emily, Mia, Summer, Kevin, Mike and Ziggy all around them, morphed and waiting. As he turned around, he saw Jayden, Scott and Dillon all standing with weapons at the ready.

"An ambush?" Professor Cog laughed. "You really think you have the power to bring me down?"

"We just wanted to make sure no one else got hurt in the meantime." Ziggy called out.

"Alright guys, let's make this quick!" Scott announced. "Now!"

Jayden was a little dumbfounded that Scott had just taken the lead in the mission. Although he respected their greater knowledge of Venjix's creations, his team was accomplished in their own right.

"Come on guys, let's give them a hand!" Jayden called out. His team charged into the battle to assist them.

"How tough can these guys be?" Ziggy asked, rushing towards some moogers. "We're used to robots. These guys are all meat!"

Unfortunately, just as he said that, a few of them swarmed him, attacking with a ferocity and speed that he was unused to. The thing about grinders was that being machines, their actions were mechanical and predictable. Although the RPM rangers were good fighters in their own right, they were not used to fighting foes that reacted instinctually, that showed creativity in their tactics.

"Wow, these guys are tough!" Summer commented.

"Welcome to our world!" Mike answered as he took down a few of the creatures, sending them to the ground.

"Alright, new tactics." Jayden told them. "Everyone stick to your usual opponents!"

The teams all did as he suggested, turning the tide of the battle for a time. Unfortunately Professor Cog was still powerful. Seeing that his forces were being depleted, he opted to perform his own gambit.

"You seem to be the leader, let's see how they do without you!" He called out, aiming a weapon at Jayden. "Vortex Command!"

The Samurai all saw the energy weapon powering up, and left what they were doing, sprinting towards him. As the blast was fired towards him, they threw themselves in the way, disappearing in a bright flash of light that sent everyone staggering. As his vision cleared, he saw that his friends were gone.

Cog opened a compartment in his chest, and some metal devices fired out, turning into more grinders as they struck the ground. A few gaps round about started to glow, and moogers started to swarm out of them, flooding the area.

"OK, now this is NOT good!" Dillon remarked.

"It's time for fresh tactics." Jayden told them. "Everyone behind me!"

The RPM team did as they were told, at which he pulled out his Samuraizer. Powering up a symbol, he cast it forward, and the whole area was engulfed in flames. As they dissipated, Professor Cog realised that the Rangers were gone.

"So much for the mighty Rangers." He stated. "Well, now that you're regrouping, I suppose I should do the same!"

Mike started to stir and come to, finding Emily leaning over him.

"Wow, what was that?" He asked. "Did anyone get the registration plate of that truck?"

"Are you alright?" Emily asked him.

"Yeah, sure." Mike responded. "You?"

"I'm fine." She replied with a little smile.

"Alright, well now we're all awake, how about we figure out where in the hell we are?" Kevin asked. It was only then that Mike noticed they were no longer on the docks. Indeed, it looked nothing like anywhere he had ever seen.

All around, for miles was desert. Nothing but sand and rock as far as he could see.

"We should be looking for any signs of civilisation." Mia suggested. "Maybe if we find someone..."

"Well, I say we head that way." Antonio suggested from the top of a rocky outcrop. As the others joined him, he pointed into the distance.

"Is that..."

"It's the only thing for miles around that looks man-made." Kevin commented. It was a huge, metal dome. Even though it looked to be miles away, they could see that it was truly immense, probably miles in diameter, and stretching up into the sky higher than anything around it. The land between them and it was littered with broken and charred ruins of machines and vehicles.

"Wait, didn't the others say something about a domed city?" Emily asked.

"Yeah, they called it..."

"Corinth." Mia interrupted Mike. "They said it was the only city left on Earth in their dimension."

"Well, seeing this I can believe it." Antonio replied. "So, in the absence of a better plan, I suggest we go there."

"We do know that there are humans in there." Mike answered with a shrug. "If their Dr. X..."

"K." Emily corrected him.

"If this Dr K was smart enough to send her team to our dimension, perhaps she can send us back there too." He suggested.

"Well first things' first, we're never going to make it without some water." Antonio reminded them. "I don't know about you, but I'm getting cooked."

"Leave that to me." Kevin replied, pulling out his Samuraizer. He traced a symbol, at which five water canteens appeared on a nearby rock. They each picked one up and took a sip.

"Alright, just stick together." Mia reminded them. "We have no idea what we'll find out here."

Back in their own dimension, on a secluded beach, a few surfers were enjoying the early morning swell. It was a secluded beach, far from any of the recommended safe surfing zones, but like many, they sought more challenging waves, and were willing to take the risk.

As one of them wiped out on the beach, narrowly avoiding some rocks, he looked up from the sand. He saw something a little way off, something incredibly curious. It looked like a person lying on the beach. He furrowed his brows as he brought his board up onto the beach and secured it. He was sure he and his friends were the only ones there. They didn't advertise this stretch of water, fearing that if others knew about it, their favourite spot would quickly become overcrowded.

As he got closer though, he could see the figure in more detail. It was a female, a blonde girl, just lying on the beach face-down. Were it not for the state of her clothing and the fact she wasn't moving, he would not have thought anything more of it. He ran over to her as a couple of his friends landed on the beach.

He grabbed her, turning her over, and looking into her face. She was very pale, and cold to the touch. She was covered in grazes, burns and bruises. He could feel that she was hardly breathing, and her pulse was incredibly weak.

"What's going on here Brad?" Another surfer asked him. "Is she...?"

"She's alive Kurt." The Brad responded. "Barely."

"Who is she?" Kurt asked as they started to inspect her. He saw the manacles on her wrists and ankles, as well as the metal collar locked around her neck. "What the hell happened to her?"

"I don't know, but I know what's going to happen if we don't get her to a hospital." Brad responded, looking around the bay fro where their friends were out in a spotter boat in case they got into trouble. He started to wave frantically. It looked like whoever she was, however she had come to be here, someone had left her for dead, and if they didn't get her help soon, then she would certainly end up that way.


	4. Corinth's Newest Visitors

Jayden and the RPM Rangers were back in the Shiba House, sitting around, contemplating their defeat at the hands of Professor Gut. It had not been long since he had effectively cut their forces in half and forced them into retreat. Scott was pacing as he talked into his communicator. Serena was working on the scanners, trying and failing to find any signs of the missing Samurai Rangers, while Stephen was working on a computer, utilising satellite surveillance to expand the search further. Unfortunately, given the way he was glaring at the computer, it seemed he was not having any better luck.

"OK, that's great, thanks." Scott said as he finished his message on the communicator. "I love you too. Thanks."

As he turned back to them, he had a little bit of a smile still on his face. He just cleared his throat as Jayden and the others looked to him.

"Dr. K said she picked up your friends' energy readings." Scott informed him. "It seems Professor Cog had a sense of humour. He sent them to our dimension. They're in the desert a few miles from Corinth."

"Oh my God, are they going to be OK?" Summer asked. "I mean, they're not used to things out there..."

"They've been well trained, they'll be fine." Jayden put down flatly. "If I know them, they're already on their way to Corinth to see if there's a way home."

"Just so they can get their butts handed to them again?" Dillon asked.

"Dillon..."

"No, let him say it." Jayden stated. "What's that meant to mean?"

"So far, all your team's done is get in the way." Dillon snapped. "They can't do squat against the grinders, the only tie we fought alongside them they managed to get in the way, and then they jump in front of an energy blast when they have no idea what it is to protect you!"

"You know, that was kind of weird." Ziggy remarked. "What was all that about?"

"They believe that I'm the key to stopping Master Xandred for good." Jayden informed them. "The reason Master Xandred can't just invade the Earth is because years ago one of my ancestors created a sealing symbol that keeps him trapped in the Netherworld. It takes a lot of symbol power, and he died before completing it, but its kept Master Xandred trapped for all these centuries. Since that symbol power runs in my bloodline, only I can try to complete the symbol and seal him and the other Nighlock away for good."

The RPM Rangers all just sat around, staring at him for a moment.

"OK, now not only do we have a team that can't help us trapped in our dimension, the only one we have left has a Messiah complex." Dillon snorted, before turning back to Scott. "You're the leader here; you have to see that they've done more harm than good."

"Dillon!" Summer blurted out, looking horrified at what he had said. Scott just held up a hand.

"I'm sorry, but I think he might have a point." Scott stated. "I'm sorry Jayden, but so far all you've proven is that your team isn't equipped to deal with this threat."

"Scott..."

"You're great fighters, maybe even better than us, I don't know, but your weapons just don't have any effect on them!" He told him flatly. "If they show up again, we're going alone."

"Yeah, because you were doing so well against the moogers." Serena stated sarcastically, rounding on Scott. "It's not so easy to fight when your opponent isn't kind enough to always come at you the same way time and time again is it?"

"Leave it Serena." Jayden told her, glaring at the RPM team. "I'll tell you what. If you don't think I can help, then prove it."

He threw Scott and Dillon both a shinai, and picked one up himself.

"If you can both defeat me, then I'll stand aside." Jayden told them. Dillon just let out a little, dismissive laugh.

"This is so tragically old school." He commented. "Alright, it's your funer..."

His words were cut off as without warning, Jayden flicked the shinai from his hand, before connecting with his knee, and then the back of his head, sending him to the floor. Scott rushed forward; only to find his shinai knocked toward the floor, before Jayden's 'blade' hovered by his throat.

"Those Nitro Swords you use may cause impressive damage, but if your opponent has good enough technique to ensure you don't land a blow, or if it is taken from you, then it doesn't matter. It's just a very impressively high-tech stick."

"OK, I...uh...think you made your point." Scott replied. "OK, so you know more about moogers and Nighlock, I guess we can use that in the field."

"There are plenty of rooms for you to rest up in." Jayden told them. He then turned to Dillon. "Just remember, this is my home. Your team mates have respected that, but if you insult me or my team again, you can find somewhere else to stay."

As he strode out of the room, Summer came over to Dillon, helping him up, before smacking him across the back of his head.

"Hey!" He protested.

"Jayden's been nothing but nice to us. He's done nothing but try and help." She chastised him. "I swear, sometimes I wonder why I married you."

Meanwhile, in the Netherworld, Professor Cog was sitting on Master Xandred's junk, affecting some minor repairs after his battle with the Rangers. Octroo came over to him, offering him some more metal to help him repair his armour.

"You really showed those Rangers who's boss." Octoroo commented. "There's only one of our Rangers left!"

"He is still the one with the sealing power." Master Xandred pointed out, taking a long slug from his medicine. "I would remind you of our deal. Five out of six is not what we agreed."

"I will take care of your Red ranger soon enough." Professor Cog assured him. "The last battle has given me a lot of insight into the strengths and weaknesses of both teams. I already have a strategy that should give us the edge we need over them. It will, however, require a little...co-operation...on your part."

"What do you want now?" Master Xandred asked him.

"More moogers, and also a Nighlock." He told him. "I couldn't help noticing that my Rangers seemed to struggle against your creatures. Perhaps with a suitable allied force, we will get the edge we need."

"Octoroo, fetch General Gut." Xandred growled. "Tell him I have need of his battalion."

Over in the Corinth Wastelands, the Samurai Rangers were continuing their long walk to the domed city. It wasn't really that long a journey, but in the unrelenting heat of the sun, exhaustion set in a lot more quickly. Emily and Mike were leaning on each other for mutual support, while Kevin and Mia led the way. Antonio finally took a seat on a rock, opening his flask for a drink.

"We have to keep moving." Kevin reminded him.

"Kev, we're all exhausted, and the sun's getting pretty high." Antonio reminded him. "Maybe we should find some shelter for a while and rest. Let the sun go past midday and set out again when it's getting cooler."

"Antonio, we have no idea what's out here." Kevin reminded him. "If we hang around, we run the risk that something patrolling out here will find us."

"Kevin, we are all getting pretty tired." Mia reminded him. "Maybe if we rest up for a little while in the shade we can quicken the pace."

Kevin didn't like the idea of hanging around, but he had to admit that Mia had a point. The sun here was much harsher than it was back home, and he could remember the heat stroke that he suffered when he caught the Swordfish Zord. He just conceded the point and nodded.

"Alright, but ten minutes tops." He told them. Mike pointed to some wreckage.

"We could try sheltering there." He told them. "Under the wing, that should provide good shade."

It was a fighter jet of some description, looking at it; it seemed it had been shot down some time ago. As they got closer, they could see some markings on it, declaring it to be part of Corinth Air Force. It also carried a name on it, Eagle 1.

"This is meant to be Christmas." Emily muttered as they took shelter under the wing. "We're meant to be getting hypothermia, not sunstroke."

"We'll get home." Mike assured her. "You see, the dome isn't that far away. It looks like we're only a few miles out now."

"Yeah, only a few more miles of getting cooked." Antonio replied, before noticing something a little way off. He grabbed something out of the sand and inspected it.

"Antonio, it's junk." Kevin told him. "Leave it; we don't need any useless weight..."

"Kevin, this isn't junk." Antonio told him. "It's a flight recorder, probably from this plane."

"Wait, it's the flight recorder?" Mike asked him. "I heard about those. They're indestructible so that in the event of a crash, they can retrieve evidence about what happened."

"They're not indestructible, but they're not far off it." Antonio corrected him. "This looks like it should still work."

"So what?" Kevin asked him. "It's useless to us! Hell, it's useless to them; no one's tried to retrieve it!"

"No one's tried to retrieve it because it's too dangerous to leave the dome." Mia reminded him. "We're already out here. Maybe we should take it back while we have the chance."

"What for? What is there to find out?" Kevin asked. "The plane was shot down! We know that!"

"We don't know what anyone can learn from this." Antonio told him. "Besides, this place has lost everything. This is a piece of history. If nothing else, we should return it to them."

"Just imagine if someone found the black box of Emilia Earheart's last flight." Mike added. "Or...the Hindenburg landing."

"Alright, but you carry it." Kevin stated, pointing to Antonio. "If it slows us down, then you dump it alright?"

"No problem dude." Antonio replied. Just then, he looked up. "Uh, guys, do you hear something?"

"It sounds like..." Mike's eyes shot open wide. "Engines!"

"Alright, everyone at the ready." Kevin ordered, rushing out to see what it was. "Samuraizers at the..."

"Dude, is that a flying chicken?" Mike interrupted him, pointing upwards to where a helicopter with the unmistakable features of a gigantic rooster. It was backed up by a jet that looked a little like a tiger. They both started a vertical descent, landing a little way from them.

"Well, that thing Venjix created looked pretty odd." Mia commented. "Maybe..."

"Hello?" They heard a female voice calling out.

"Rangers?" A male voice came a second later. After a short time, a couple of people, wearing gold and silver ranger suits came walking towards them.

"Hey!" Antonio called out, waving to them. The Gold and Silver Rangers ran over, pulling off their helmets as they did so.

"Hey, are you guys...

"...The Samurai Rangers?" Gemma concluded.

"Uh...yeah." Kevin replied. "And you guys are?"

"I'm the Gold RPM Ranger Gem!" Gem replied, shaking his hand excitedly.

"And I'm Gemma, the Silver Ranger." She stated, also beginning to shake hands.

"This is so exciting, we've never..."

"...met other rangers before!" Gem concluded.

"We're glad to see you too." Mia answered, a little uneasily, slightly taken aback by their overwhelming nature. "You were looking for us?"

"Dr. K found your energy signatures and sent us to find you." Gem told them.

"We'll get you there in no time." Gemma stated. "Come on, we'll give you a ride!"

As the twins put their helmets back on and bounded in the direction of their Zords, Kevin just leaned in towards the others.

"I think they may have been in the sun a little too long." He commented. "And I thought Emily and Antonio were hyper."

"Hey!" Emily protested.

"I'm just stoked there's another Gold Ranger!" Antonio commented, picking up the flight recorder. "I like them."

"Me too." Mike said with a smile. "I say we go with them. It's that or walk the rest of the way."

With that, they headed for the Zords.

In Ocean Bluff Airport, Mentor Ji's plane had landed, and he was just collecting his luggage. It had been quite a journey since he had left the States, and while he only had a couple of days left, he was hopeful to return home in time for the day. He doubted the Rangers would care that he hadn't gotten around to wrapping their presents, so long as he returned to them.

He got out of the airport, and hailed a cab. Getting in, he reached forward, handing the driver some cash.

"Jungle Karma Pizza." He told him. "Don't spare the horses."

"You heard about the turkey stuffing and cranberry special?" He chuckled. "Alright, we're on our way."

"Turkey, stuffing and cranberry pizza?" He chuckled, settling back on his seat. "Only you RJ."

Back in the Netherworld, Professor Cog was brought to the crest of a hill by Octoroo, where he saw a whole army of moogers waiting. There had to be easily a hundred, all constantly drilling and practicing. He stood watching them; impressed by the assistance Xandred was willing to offer him.

"I see you are awed by my forces." A Nighlock commented as he came up to him. He was large, almost as large around the middle as he was in height, and covered head to foot in highly ornate golden armour.

"They are impressive." Professor Cog commented. "General Gut I presume?"

"I hear that Master Xandred wants you to combine your followers with mine to take down the Rangers." Gut greeted him with a hard slap on the back. "Hm...impressive armour."

"I see you value the protection of steel also." Professor Cog commented. "Allow me to show you my forces."

With that, he fired a bunch of metal pieces onto the field, and they all erupted, becoming grinders, matching the moogers one for one.

"It is simple mathematics. My team struggles against your creations, and your team struggles against mine." Professor Cog pointed out. "We simply overwhelm them, and they are bound to fall."

"One problem, how do we get our entire army out of here?" Cog asked. "If we could just bring my army out of here, then don't you think I'd have done that by now?"

"I have made some calculations, and I believe I have found a way." Professor Cog told him. "Leave that to me."

Back in Corinth, Gem and Gemma brought the Samurai into The Garage. They looked around in awe at the set-up they had there.

"Holy crap, can you believe this place?" Mike commented as he ran over to Summer's bike. "Mentor has his bike, and we have an SUV, but this stuff..." He then ran over to Scott's sports car. "Oh, these thing are so...wow!"

"Stop drooling Mike, we've already got you your presents." Mia chuckled. Antonio meanwhile was checking out all the computer systems.

"Look at all this tech!" Antonio squealed. "This stuff...it's just...wow!"

"Dr. K hooks us up with the neatest stuff alright." Gem told him. "You should see the entertainment system!"

"A pool table?" Kevin asked. "It's all a little...cluttered...don't you think?"

"Kevin..."

"Mia, there are so many distractions here, it's all unnecessary." Kevin told her. "It's just a distraction from training to perfect technique..."

"Dude, to you toilets are a distraction." Mike teased him. "Can't you just admit this pace is kind of cool?"

"It's about to get cooler." Gemma told them, grabbing Mike and Emily. "Come this way!"

The door to the lab opened up, and they were ushered inside, to the Ranger lab. They could see the assembled Ranger suits in their cases, and the entire place was covered in computers, machines and electrical components. Antonio's eyes were wide in amazement.

"Someone pinch me!" He stammered. "I just died and went to heaven."

"Heaven is an abstract concept derived from the average human's desire to obfuscate their fear of the unknown realm of what happens after death by constructing an idealised version of what awaits them when their biological functions cease to operate." A voice coming from behind a large chair stated. It turned around, revealing a young woman with a rather roughly self-styled haircut, and a lab coat over what could only be described as a school uniform. "I take it you are the Rangers?"

"Yeah, we are." Kevin replied. "I'm Kevin, the Blue Ranger. We're here to see Dr. K."

"I'm Dr. K." She answered. Kevin just looked at her a little surprised. "Is something wrong?"

"You're a kid!" He commented. She just rolled her eyes.

"Please tell me he is not the brains of the team." She stated, causing Mike to snigger a little. "Despite my appearance, I am 18, but believe me; I am more than capable of sending you home."

"We have information which may change things." Antonio told her. "Professor is in our dimension to acquire water from the Sanzu River. He intends to poison your water supply."

Dr. K just turned to him in alarm hearing that.

"The Sanzu River?" She asked him. "But...there's been no way to get to it for centuries!"

"Wait, I thought the Sanzu River was a myth here?" Mike commented. "I thought no one believed in it."

"Well, that is for the best to avoid panic." She told them. "I found ancient writings on my way to Corinth that I translated. I ran the data and confirmed that in our dimension, the original Samurai, your ancestors, succeeded in creating a permanent seal. It exists, but travel between our world and there is not possible. That must be why he went to your dimension."

"Well, I guess it's comforting to know creating the seal is possible." Mia sighed. "So what about the Sanzu River Water, why does he need that?"

"Yeah, I mean...surely any other poison would work just as well." Mike remarked.

"We constructed the city based on the presumption that we'd never be able to leave. We thought of every possible contingency." Dr. K explained. "Our filtration and purification plants have been created to destroy any trace of contaminant from our water supply. Cog would need something that our systems wouldn't recognise."

"Like poisonous water that as far as anyone is concerned doesn't exist." Kevin replied.

"Exactly." Dr. K concluded. "Gem, Gemma, it is vital that we stop Cog. He cannot bring any of that water back here. Both of you will go with them."

"But what about..."

"...Corinth?" Gem concluded. Dr. K just went back to her computer.

"We'll super-charge the shields." Dr. K told them. "If you don't stop them, it's immaterial if you're here or not. There'll be no Corinth left to protect."


	5. A Coming Storm

In JKP, the night was getting very busy. Being December 23rd, it was realistically the last day the majority of people would be shopping frantically for their last-minute gifts and supplies, and so they were doing a storming trade between take-away orders and shoppers desperate for something to eat before heading home. Mentor Ji came in, finding Dom, Fran, Lily and Gabby running around frantically as they tried to cope with the maddening rush.

"Wow...um...I guess this is a bad time." He remarked as Lily came over with a check pad, before seeing who it was.

"Ji!" She shrieked excitedly, throwing her arms around him. "You're back! When we didn't hear anything..."

"Yes, I am afraid I have been finding communications something of a problem on my journey." He admitted. "I was hoping for something to eat, but if it's this busy, then perhaps I should just get my bike and go..."

"Whoa, wait...are you kidding?" Dominic asked him. "You want to go tonight?"

"I would like to get back before..."

"No Ji, the roads...there's been a lot of bad weather." Lily agreed. "The weather services are warning people not to travel if they don't have to. Especially in the dark, and it's already getting pretty dark."

"Yeah, at very least you should wait till the morning." Fran suggested. "And, you know, if you feel like helping out, that would be great!"

"RJ's just in the back." Lily told him. "Just find a room and make yourself comfortable. We'll probably be finished here in an hour or so, and I'm sure RJ would love to catch up. Help yourself to the kitchen if you're hungry."

With that, he gathered his belongings and made his way up to the apartment.

Back in the Shiba House, Jayden was sitting in his room, mulling over recent events. He didn't even notice as Summer knocked gently and entered the room.

"Um...sorry, I thought you heard me." She told him. "If you'd like..."

"No, it's fine." He mumbled, before gesturing her inside. "Is there something on your mind?"

"I just wanted to talk to you about Dillon." She admitted. "I just wanted to apologise for the way he's been acting."

"You don't need to apologise for him." Jayden assured her.

"Unfortunately, I really think I do." Summer said, showing him her wedding ring. "I think that's covered in the "for better or worse" part of the whole deal."

She took a seat and started to consider what she wanted to say.

"Look, I know he's kind of...short and a little..." She took a deep sigh. "Let's call a spade a spade. Until you get to know him, he's kind of an ass."

"I guess Kevin takes some getting used to." Jayden admitted.

"It's more than that though. Things have really been getting to him." Summer continued with her story. "When we defeated Venjix, we all thought that was it for us. We'd all started to move on with our lives. It was really hard for Dillon and his sister though. They basically had to start from scratch."

"I remember Dillon saying he didn't have any memories." Jayden answered. Summer just nodded.

"Basically all he has is the last three years." Summer told her. "And about a year and a half of that was spent fighting Venjix. Being brought back into all of this..."

"It must be really hard." Jayden commented.

"We were looking at moving on too." Summer told him. "We were trying to start a family when we had to come back. He just kind of can't help getting angry whenever he thinks about Venjix. He's literally lost everything to him, and just when he was starting to get something back, he gets brought back into it all. It's hard watching what it does to him."

"For what it's worth, I have seen the way he is when he's around you." Jayden told her. "I can tell he's a good person. That's why I gave him another chance."

"Thanks for that." Summer answered. "I know my husband isn't the easiest guy to get along with."

"I understand. He lost everything once, so it terrifies him to think that he might lose it again. And by the looks of things, it looks like he has a lot to lose." Jayden told her as she started to leave, causing her to smile a little. "Thanks for what you said earlier."

"Hey, they might be slow to admit it, but the others were impressed by your team." Summer told him. "Dillon might have taken the odd hit for us, but he's got a force field. What your friends did for you...that's pretty amazing."

"They are an amazing team." Jayden told her. "I really hope your Dr. K can get them back."

"If anyone can it's her." Summer told him. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight." Jayden replied as she left. It was late, and he was sure that it wouldn't be long until Cog made his move once more. He could feel it coming with every fibre of his being, and he could only hope that they would be enough to take care of the coming battles.

The following morning, General Gut and Professor Cog appeared through a gap, landing in a field far from the city. They were each carrying a large device with them, a long, metal pole covered in circuitry. They walked a few feet apart, and rammed them into the ground before powering them up, creating a shimmering, misty red portal between them.

"You know, perhaps you could leave this here when you leave." Professor Cog suggested. "Then all my brethren could come through."

As he said this, the legion began marching out, twenty across, moogers interspersed with Grinders. Professor Cog just watched the seemingly endless horde march through.

"Remember, today your Red Ranger meets his end." He reminded him. "Once that happens, the bloodline is lost, and the seal is lost forever. You won't need this."

Back at the Shiba House, Jayden arrived in the training yard, finding the RPM Rangers working with Shinai. Serena was standing, observing them as they did so. Their work was basic, it was clear they were learning, but he had to admit being impressed with what they were picking up in what had to be their first lesson.

"Jayden." Serena called out, waving him over.

"What is all this?" He asked.

"Summer came to me early." Serena told him. "Since their weakness is in their technique, they asked if I could show them some pointers while we wait for Cog to make his move."

"And from what I saw, your Fire Smasher can pretty effectively take down grinders as easily as it can moogers." Scott added as he crossed shinai with Flynn. "So, I figure we can all make a go of round three."

"The fire smasher can be a pretty good can opener." Jayden said with a little smile, seemingly impressed at their willingness to concede that neither force was perfectly equipped to deal with the other's threat and work to find ways to strengthen those areas. "So, does anyone want to show me what you learned?"

Just then, the Gap Sensor sounded. Stephen ran out, looking panicked.

"Why do I get the feeling we aren't getting to have that match?" Scott asked.

"Maybe later." Jayden promised him. "What is it Peter?"

Stephen and Serena just looked at him.

"Sorry, Stephen." He replied, before looking to the confused RPM Rangers. "Long story, I'll explain later. What is it?"

"It looks like Cog returned, and he brought some friends." Stephen told him, pulling out a laptop and showing them the map. "A LOT of friends!"

"Holy crap, is that...?" Flynn's mouth fell open in horror. "A hundred grinders?"

"About the same again of moogers." Jayden replied. "And by the looks of it, he brought a Nighlock along for good measure."

Just then, a burning arrow flew through the air and landed in the garden. Flames burst forth from it, forming a Kanji symbol on the grass, before the flames died away, leaving only charred grass. Ziggy just looked to it in awe.

"OK, I don't read Japanese, but I'm guessing..."

"It's an invitation." Jayden confirmed. "They're calling us out."

"Well, I guess we get to practice some of that kendo stuff earlier than expected." Scott replied. "Let's go!"

As they were about to leave, Jayden cast a power symbol from his Samuraizer. Summer and the others just looked on shocked as five motor cycles and a brilliant white barded warhorse all appeared. He morphed into Ranger mode as he leapt up onto the horse.

"This will help us get there more quickly." Jayden told them.

"Great." Summer said with a huge grin as she morphed and hopped on her bike. The others all followed suit.

"So, are you going to be bringing up the rear?" Scott asked. As he said that, Jayden's horse reared up, its eyes glowing brightly, and its hooves burst into flames, before riding off at an impossible speed.

"OK, that was awesome!" Ziggy commented as they all powered up their bikes and rode out of the yard after Jayden, his horse, augmented by his symbol power setting the pace.

Over in Ocean Bluff, Ji was just waking up, having taken RJ up on his offer of staying overnight and setting out the following day. He smiled as he saw RJ and Lily sitting with breakfast on the table.

"You slept well." RJ remarked.

"I rarely sleep on planes." Ji told him, sitting down and accepting some coffee.

"I guess you're going home today." Lily added. "I wish you could stay longer, but I guess you want to get back to Jayden."

"I really should." Ji told them. "I still haven't wrapped my presents yet."

"Well, we got kind of an unexpected gift." RJ told him. "It turns out that Theo's been staying at the Pai Zhuq temple."

"Casey's been putting him up since we thought he left." Lily told him. "He let him stay there to straighten out his head and figure out what he wanted to do. The only reason he never told us is because..."

"He didn't want to betray a friend's trust." Ji concluded with a little smile. "Why do I get the feeling this is the present?"

"We managed to pin him down and talk to him." RJ confirmed. "It's still...not as it was, but I guess that's to be expected."

"It looks like he's accepted the break up." Lily told him. "We're all working on being friends again."

"I'm sure he missed you both too." Ji replied.

"He's coming over for Christmas dinner." RJ said as he put his arm around Lily. "I guess that's a good sign right?"

"Turn that up." Ji replied, ducking his head aside to see the television. It was down low as background noise while they ate breakfast. RJ did so, only to see footage from Ji's city.

"An unprecedented army has swarmed into our city from the Netherworld!" The reporter stated again. "At this time, they are not headed for the city, but all we can do is wait and hope that the Power Rangers come. Though against such odds, one wonders what they can do."

Ji got up from the table, grabbing his bag and his coat.

"Ji..."

It was too late though, he was already heading down to the garage, and before they could stop him, he was riding his motorcycle at breakneck speed towards the freeway.

Back at the field, Jayden arrived on his warhorse, the flames around it dying down as he reared it to a halt. The RPM Rangers were not far behind, dismounting from their bikes as they disappeared and readying themselves for battle.

"You actually came." General Gut said with a deep belly laugh. "I can't believe you actually came."

"It's kind of what we do." Jayden stated. General Gut raised his arm, preparing to give the order to advance, when suddenly there was a bright flash of light, and a huge explosion. Before anyone knew what was happening, a huge train, designed after a Mammoth, a Triceratops and a T-Rex powered into view between the two sides.

"What the...?"

"May I introduce the Paleomax Megazord, also known as the Corinth Express." Scott announced. Jayden just looked at him.

"You travelled across dimensions on a train?" He asked. Scott just laughed.

"This coming from the guy that just thirty seconds ago was riding a horse that was on fire." He chuckled. "You've got to admit though; it's a hell of a train."

Jayden quickly stopped caring as the rest of his team emerged from the side, followed by two more morphed Rangers that he had never seen before. He presumed they had to be the other Rangers that Scott had referred to.

"We came as soon as we could amigo." Antonio told him as the teams came together. "We also brought a little backup courtesy of Dr. K."

The Paleomax Megazord rolled off, once again disappearing across dimensions, leaving the field clear.

"The odds are looking a little better now aren't they?" Scott shot out to General Gut. He just snorted in disgust.

"It's still two hundred to thirteen." He reminded them. "Attack!"

The Samurai Rangers all summoned their war horses, leaping onto them and riding deeply into the enemy lines as the RPM Rangers backed them up, falling upon the allied forces of Cog and Gut with everything they had.

In another part of town, Serena and Stephen were keeping track of the battle on the monitor, when Serena heard a motorcycle roaring into the yard. She got up and rushed to the door, finding Mentor Ji pulling off his helmet.

"Mentor..."

"Where is the battle?" Ji interrupted her.

"The field at the east of the city." She told him, at which he pulled his helmet back on and rode out of the yard again. "Mentor, where are you...? Mentor!"

"Talkative guy." Stephen commented. She just nodded.

"What does he think he's doing?" She asked in response.

Back at the site of the battle, the two Ranger teams were making impressive work of their enemy. The Samurai had all been instructed on weak points in the grinders' armour, while the little practice they'd had with each other seemed to have helped the RPM team.

General Gut and Professor Cog watched on as their foot soldiers were being cut down in droves. Cog looked to Gut and smiled.

"It's time for my little surprise." He told him. Gut just held up a hand, at which the remaining moogers and cogs all came back to them, forming up into a new formation. There was about thirty of each left.

"Well, it seems you have both done the smart thing and familiarised yourself with the opponents you are unfamiliar with." Gut called out. "However, what will you do against a new foe? One that combines the best attributes of both?"

With that, the grinders all fragmented, and formed into armour around the moogers, creating a horrendous metal mooger hybrid.

"OK, that can't be good." Dillon remarked as the Samurai dismounted and recalled their warhorses. "So, can we hope the armour slows them down?"

With that, Gut sent them charging forward. If anything, the armour seemed to augment the moogers' natural abilities, and they crossed the distance quickly. The first wave leapt high into the air, their weapons raised to strike.

"Alright, they aren't any slower." Mike replied, forming his forest spear. "Let's see if they're still..."

The point of his spear simply rebounded off the armour, sending a hard jolt up the spear into his shoulders.

"Not good!" Mike called out as he was sent flying by the creature's strike. Professor Cog and General Gut watched as their creations fell upon the Rangers.

"You see, it isn't just the Rangers that can work on strengthening the weakness in their strategy." He told him. "The strength and armour of my grinders..."

"With the abilities of my moogers." General gut concluded, watching as the Rangers started to struggle against their new threat. "How can they lose?"

Mentor Ji arrived on his motorcycle, skidding to a halt a little way from the battle, pulling off his helmet as he saw the two Ranger teams struggling. He had no idea who the others were, but since they were fighting on their side, he presumed that they were friends. As he ran over to the battle, Jayden was sent crashing to the ground, de-morphing as he went. He landed with the others, who were also in civilian form, having taken a considerable beating.

"OK, at least we took most of them with us." Kevin grunted as he looked up at the remaining ten hybrids coming towards them. Just then, Mentor Ji ran in between them, crouching down by Jayden.

"Jayden, are you alright?" He asked. Jayden just looked up in alarm.

"Mentor, they're too tough, you need to get out of here!" He told him. Mentor Ji just shook his head.

"You have all done tremendously well. You have faced odds no one would have expected you to face." He looked to the others and smiled. "I am proud of all of you. Now, allow me to do my part."

As he stood up, taking out his paintbrush morpher, he turned towards the hybrids, starting to walk towards them.

"You will step away from my SON!" He called out as he traced a power symbol in the air, before casting it forward.


	6. Ji's Early Christmas Present

Jayden and the other Rangers all pulled themselves to their feet, watching as Mentor Ji stood before them, facing the mooger/grinder hybrids in his Ranger form. None of them could believe their eyes as they saw what was standing before them.

"Okay, someone clue me in here." Mike began as he looked along the team. "When exactly did Mentor become a Ranger?"

Ji placed a Power Disk on his Spin Sword, drawing it as he faced off against the hybrids. Spinning it, it transformed into a naginata, which he spun around in an impressive display.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" General Gut screamed. "It's only one more Ranger, get him!"

Mentor Ji rushed to the attack as the remaining hybrids charged, lashing out with his naginata. The blade started to glow brightly, and he swung it. The Rangers all watched as it parted armour, and sent the first of them falling with ease.

The others swarmed around him, but his skill, and the fact he was not already exhausted from facing over a hundred foes meant he managed to stay one step ahead. Swinging around, his blade lashing in all directions, the creatures all stopped still in their tracks. Ji turned his naginata back into the Spin Sword, sheathing it and turning to face the two generals as they all fell slowly to the ground and exploded.

"But...how?" Gut gasped as he watched the last of his army fall beneath Ji's blade. "It's impossible! Our hybrids...!"

"It is foolish to rely on weapons and armour." Ji announced. "What you believed made them stronger is what defeated them. It is the warrior that makes the difference."

"My technology is flawless!" Professor Cog screamed in response as he started to rush towards him. "You will see that!"

"Your technology does have one serious flaw." Mentor Ji replied, pulling out his Samuraizer. He traced a symbol in the air, and cast it towards Cog. The attack bot continued to charge, but slowly but surely, he started to fall apart to the point that by the time his momentum carried him to Ji, scrap metal, wires and screws flew around him in all directions. He looked back to General Gut.

"He took him apart without a sweat!" Kevin shrieked. "How...?"

"He has the Symbol Power over the element of metal." Mike informed them. "Professor Cog was a robot. He could just will him apart! He may as well have been made of crepe paper!"

"Leave now General Gut, and I shall allow you to leave with your life." Ji told him flatly. "Stay, and I will send you to the Dark Zone!"

"You arrogant, self-righteous wretch!" He screamed in response. "I am General Gut! The greatest of all Master Xandred's generals! Your blood will stain this ground!"

General Gut rushed towards Ji, swinging his weapon wildly. Ji drew his Spin Sword, launching himself aside and slicing across his abdomen, skimming off his armour as he arrived.

"Wow." Scott remarked as he watched the ferocious battle. "I thought my dad was scary."

"Should we help him?" Summer asked.

"This is his fight." Jayden assured her, smiling proudly as he watched his father figure in action. "He'll tell us if we're needed."

The battle had reached something of an impasse as the two warriors leapt away from each other. Ji was landing more of the attacks, but so far was not managing to get anything through his armour. Gut on the other hand had only managed the occasional superficial hit as Ji used his own rage and momentum against him.

"Momentum is comprised of mass and velocity." Ji reminded Gut. "The more you weigh, the harder it is to start and stop that momentum."

"You will NOT humiliate me old man!" He yelled, firing a power blast his way. As he did so, Jayden leapt forward, morphing and calling forth his Fire Smasher. He blocked the energy wave, standing before Ji in his defence.

"I believe it is time for this battle to end." Ji told him, pulling out his Samuraizer again. "Say hello to the other fallen for me!"

With that, he cast a symbol at him. General Gut stopped and started to clutch at his sides. He screamed out in pain, and started clawing frantically, as though desperately trying to get his armour off. It was then that they saw why as his breast plate buckled inwards. Mentor Ji was crushing him to death with his own armour!

With one long, last scream, he exploded, ending his first life. The Rangers all swarmed around Ji as he powered down.

"That was...that was so freaking awesome!" Mike screamed. "You totally curb-stomped their asses!"

"Thank you for that assessment Mike." Ji told them. "It is as I always say, if you are creative, your symbol power can prove a more invaluable weapon than any blade."

"But...you morphed!" Mia stammered out. "When did you...?"

"I think explanations are going to have to wait guys." Jayden replied as General Gut revived for his second life, growing to enormous size.

"OK, did you happen to bring any new toys to the dance?" Mike asked.

"I am afraid that you will have to make do with your own Zords." He replied, putting a hand on Jayden's shoulder. "I have done my part. You can finish this."

"Let us." Scott told him as his team morphed ready for battle.

The Samurai all marvelled as they called forth their Zords from within them, forming up into the RPM Ultrazord. Antonio just tapped Jayden on the shoulder.

"They combined ALL their zords!" He pointed out. "Can you imagine if we could do that? What kind of power...? They have...12 ZORDS!" He called out, pointing to it excitedly as the battle progressed. "The power in that has to be off the charts!"

"Dude, our biggest Zord combination uses eight Zords." Mike reminded him. "Isn't that big enough?"

General Gut attacked their Zord repeatedly, displaying a much greater speed than they would have expected. In his second life, he no longer possessed his armour, and so was not encumbered by it. He launched an attack with some kind of serpent emanating from his abdomen.

"That one hit us pretty hard." Flynn commented from the cockpit. "The power levels are holding steady, but they are dropping."

"He's tough, but so are we!" Scott told them. "Let's give him something to think about!"

A barrage of blasts fired from the silver and gold zords on the shoulders of the Ultrazord staggering and blinding him and giving them some space.

"Alright, we are powered up and ready to go." Flynn assured him.

"Lock on and fire!" They called out together. They opened up with their ultimate attack, destroying him completely. As General Gut fell, exploding for the final time, they recalled their Zords and suits, running to the waiting Samurai Rangers.

"That was...amazing!" Emily complimented them.

"Hey, weapons are just toys if you don't know how to use them right?" Scott asked. Jayden just smiled.

"Of course, even I can admit I'd rather have a sword than a shinai when the battle starts." He conceded, grabbing his hand. "Now, let's get out of here before the reporters come back. It may be different in Corinth, but here we take the secret identity thing seriously."

A couple of hours later, after they had all rested and eaten, the Stephen, Serena, the Samurai and the RPM Rangers assembled on a disused train station a little way from the Shiba House. Scott pulled out his morpher, bringing forth the Paleomax Megazord train.

"Well, I have to admit, I may have thought you were tragically old school before, but this has been great." Scott told them.

"I'm just glad that your battles are now finally over." Emily replied. "You get back to your normal lives."

"The Ranger thing is cool and all, but I have to admit that I'm looking forward to that too." Summer told them as Dillon held her closely, looking up to her husband. "We can get back to that little...project...we were working on."

Dillon looked to the others and stepped forward, taking Mike by the arm and leading him a little further down the platform.

"I just wanted to say that I'm sorry about...you know." Dillon told him. "I've never been great with people, especially when the subject of Venjix comes up.

"Hey, we're cool." Mike told him. "If I fell out with everyone that tried to strangle me, I wouldn't have any friends."

"I just didn't want to leave without clearing things up with you." He told him. "Hey, good luck with Emily. I've seen the way you look at each other, it's clear you're made for each other."

"Yeah, she's pretty great." Mike agreed. "I have to keep reminding myself I'm not dreaming. I can't imagine what I did to deserve her."

"That sounds familiar." Dillon chuckled. "Just...do everything you can to hold onto her. You know you're only going to regret it if you don't."

"Hey, you don't need to tell me." Mike answered. "Between you and me, she's the one. I can't imagine myself with anyone else."

"Well, from what I can see the feeling's pretty mutual." Dillon assured him. "I'm not as dense with other people's feelings as others believe."

"Yeah, well good luck with Summer too." Mike told him. "Your little...project? She's not that subtle. Hope it all goes well for you."

"I hope so too." Dillon replied as they rejoined the others.

"Alright, well, we really should be going now." Scott told them. "But before we do, I talked to Dr. K and we just thought we could leave you a little something."

He reached into the train and pulled out a sack, which he reached into, pulling out a leather jacket, trimmed in red much like his own, but with the Shiba Crest on the back in red. He handed it to Jayden.

"Wow, this is...pretty awesome." He replied, removing his jacket and pulling it on. Each of the others were given a similarly styled jacket in their Ranger colour, ending at last with Summer coming over to Mentor Ji, handing him one.

"It was last-minute, but we figured that now you're a Ranger, you should get one too." She told him.

"Thank you." Mentor Ji replied, pulling on his jacket with a huge smile. "As it happens, we got you all a little something too."

Jayden stepped aside as Serena and Stephen brought out a box, containing training equipment, DVDs and books on kendo techniques.

"You seemed to be taking to it well." Jayden stated. "We thought that maybe if you continued to practice, then when you did it would remind you of us."

"Well we have a lot more time on our hands." Scott answered. "You can be sure we will."

"Friends Together!" The Samurai called out.

"Rangers Forever!" The RPM side answered. With that, they started filing onto the train. As the hatch closed and it pulled away from the station, the Samurai watched it disappear into a flash of light in the distance.

"I'm really going to miss them." Emily commented.

"I am too." Mike agreed.

"They really were great weren't they?" Jayden added, before checking his watch. "Anyway, it's almost midnight. If we don't get back quickly, we'll miss the last of Christmas Eve."

As they turned and walked away, Jayden came alongside Mentor Ji.

"I'm really glad for everything." He told him. "Not just the Ranger thing, but that you're back in time."

"I managed to be there the first twenty two, what made you think I'd miss this one if I could help it?" Ji asked him, putting his arm around Jayden. "Merry Christmas my son."

"Merry Christmas Ji." He replied as he they walked home.

**A/N:** I am only guaranteeing that there WILL be a Christmas chapter, but it may not be until after the day itself, so I wanted to get these out tonight. Merry Christmas everyone!


	7. Samurai Christmas

The Rangers, Serena and Stephen arrived back at the Shiba House, mercifully a little before midnight, and so it was still technically Christmas Eve for a little while yet. All of their parcels were already under the tree, only Ji's were missing. He had left before he had a chance to even wrap them, and no one wanted to go snooping around in his room without his permission.

"It sounds like you had a pretty wild journey." Jayden concluded with a slight chuckle as they arrived. On the way back, he had relayed the details of what had happened to him, including the events he had seen inside the Kin Vault. Although his family had kept that secret buried for centuries, he felt no shame in it any longer. Genkei's actions were not the responsibility of his clan as a whole. He saw no sense in having the power and not using it, especially as he had now seen that Master Xandred was indeed becoming considerably stronger. "I'm glad you made it back."

"And you couldn't have picked a better time to bust out those wicked moves." Mike complimented him. "I still can't believe that story you told us at Halloween was actually true."

"You will find that many legends contain at very least a grain of truth." Mentor Ji told him sagely. "Of course, that doesn't mean to say that with each retelling most of them become so embellished that it is almost impossible to tell what is true and what is not."

"Yeah, I heard that the guy Robin Hood is most likely based on only operated about thirty years before the position of Sheriff of Nottingham even existed." Stephen chipped in.

"Way to ruin one of my favourite stories!" Emily whined as she looked to him a little grumpily. Serena just chuckled.

"Emily, you never REALLY believed that story did you?" Serena asked her. Just then, Kevin looked to the clock.

"Guys, you might want to stop arguing right about...now! Merry Christmas!" He declared.

"Merry Christmas!" They all chorused, falling upon each other in a cascade of hugs, greetings, and even a few appropriate kisses. Mike made his way to the pile of presents under the tree.

"Alright guys, it's Christmas!" He called out, picking up the first brightly coloured parcel. "Kev, it looks like you're first up!"

He handed Kevin a parcel, and he read the tag, seeing that it was from Mia. He looked to her with a big grin on his face as he tore it open.

"A watch?" Antonio asked as he saw the box inside. "Wow Mia, that's roman..."

"This is amazing Mia, exactly what I wanted Thank YOU!" Kevin screamed excitedly, kissing her excitedly, before opening up the box and pulling out the watch in question. He looked to it with glee. "It's set by the Atomic Clock!"

"His old one is three seconds slow." Mia told them as he held her tightly, giggling a little. "Do I know my man or what?"

"Whatever floats your boat I guess." Antonio replied with a shrug. Mia pulled a little closer to Kevin.

"I shall just go and fetch my presents to you from my room." Mentor Ji replied as he made his way out of the room. Antonio reached for the next present.

"Alright, next we have Emily." He announced. Emily bounded over, taking her first present and beginning to tear off the paper.

Mentor Ji had gone into his room, and was just pulling out the gifts he had gotten for the Rangers, beginning to put the gifts into a large bag. He hadn't had the chance to wrap them, so this was really the best he could do at such short notice.

He couldn't help being overjoyed that he was home at this time. As time rolled on, and his quest had taken unexpected turns, he was starting to believe that he may be spending his first Christmas by himself. Jayden had been a part of his life since the day he had been born. Being in service to the Shiba Clan, Ji had been there on the day his parents brought him home for the first time. He had seen all the major milestones in his life, and even when his parents were no longer around, he had always been with him. He had always made an effort at Christmas, especially after Jayden's father, his best friend had died.

He made his way back through, finding the others all laughing loudly, the excitement of the occasion overtaking them. They were surrounded by mounds of torn wrapping paper, and discarded boxes as they all opened their gifts. Emily was in the process of hugging Mia in thanks for a scarf she was putting on. Ji just came in with his bag of gifts and put them down, while Antonio was in the corner, working on something with a small toolkit he seemed to have been given. Ji came over and sat with his charges, placing down the bag.

"Ji, this one's for you." Jayden told him, handing him a parcel. He nodded in appreciation, accepting the gift.

"Emily." Mike whispered to his girlfriend as the party continued. She just looked at him. "Emily, it's time for your present."

"OK." She replied, holding out her hand. Mike just shook his head.

"It's outside." He told her, jerking his head in the direction of the door. "Come on."

Emily looked around the others, seeing that they were far too busy with their presents to really notice. She and Mike got up, heading out into the back yard. He led her over to the bench in the yard and sat her down.

"This was where it all began." He told her. "Do you remember?"

"Of course I do." Emily replied with a little smile. "This was where we were sitting after that battle with Negatron. Where I stole that kiss."

"Yeah, that reaction wasn't my crowning moment of awesomeness I'll admit." Mike told her. "Still, that was when I knew for a fact that you liked me as much as I liked you. That was where it all started."

"So, what are we doing out here now?" She asked him. Mike reached under the bench, and pulled out an envelope, handing it to her. Emily just opened it, and looked at the document inside a little blankly.

"I don't understand." She told him. "What does this mean?"

"It's a star deed." He informed her as he reached under the bench again, pulling out a telescope. "I saw a stand at the mall. You see, new stars are being discovered all the time, and it's possible to buy the right to name them."

Emily checked the document again, and had to struggle for breath as she saw what was written under the name. It was both her and Mike's full names. She looked up to where he was setting up the telescope, and starting to adjust it.

"You named a star after us?" She asked him. He looked to her and nodded as he made the last few adjustments for the co-ordinates from the deed. He had memorised them when he set up the surprise.

"Here." He said, beckoning her over. Emily came across and looked through the telescope, marvelling at what she saw.

"That's our star?" She asked him.

"And it'll carry our name forever." He told her. "Just as long as I'll love you."

Emily just held him, kissing him passionately.

"I love it." She told him, parting from him far enough to look into his eyes. "Forever."

"You know it." Mike answered, pulling her in and holding her tightly.

Later in the day, after the residents had all had a chance to get some sleep, Mentor Ji came into the kitchen, finding Mia hard at work on the dinner. Kevin was helping her, or at least he was MEANT to be helping her, instead he seemed to be just standing with his arms around her, occasionally picking at the food.

"Kevin, leave it alone." She complained. "I'm sure the others would like it if there was some food left!"

"I thought Antonio was helping you." Mentor Ji stated.

"He just said he had something to do in the main room." She told him. "He said he was working on something for you."

"Yeah, he took your communicator." Kevin added. Mentor Ji just started to head for the main room. Kevin just reached for the stuffing over Mia's shoulder, only to get his hand smacked away.

"Kevin, I swear to God, steal any more food and I'll break your fingers!" She warned him.

"Have I ever told you that you're cute when you're grumpy?" He asked her sweetly.

"Then I'm about to get downright adorable!" She warned him. "Kevin, if you're not going to help, then just...get out of the way!

"I'll just check on the turkey." He told her.

"Why don't you do that?" Mia replied as he headed for the oven. It still had some way to go, so at least she was sure he wouldn't be stealing any more.

In the main room, Mentor Ji found Antonio working on his communicator with the tool set he had been given by Jayden. He came across, pointing to the communicator.

"Antonio, what are you doing with my communicator?" Mentor Ji demanded.

"I was working on a little something for you." Antonio answered. "To go with your new powers, I just wanted to update your tech to bring you up to speed with the others."

"My tech?" He asked in response. It was then he looked around, realising something else was missing. "Where's my morpher?"

"I integrated it with your communicator." He answered. "It took some tech magic, and a butt load of symbol power..."

"You tampered with my morpher?" Ji asked him incredulously. "Antonio, that was an ancient and powerful..."

"It's done." Antonio told him, throwing the communicator to him. "Here, try it out."

He flipped it open, before trying tracing a simple symbol. Seeing the glowing energy coming from the tip, he smiled. As he cast it forward, a paper clip suddenly straightened out, before tying itself in a knot.

"Now, try morphing." Antonio beckoned him. Mentor Ji just stood in as much open space as he could.

"Go go Samurai!" He called out, casting out his symbol. He morphed instantly into his Ranger form. He turned to Antonio, who just threw up his hands in victory.

"Who's the man?" He called out. "You have new powers, why not have a new morpher? I just brought you into line with the rest of the team. Welcome to the 21st century."

"It is impressive." Mentor Ji replied as he de-morphed. "Thank you Antonio."

"Any time." He replied. As he left, Jayden walked into the room.

"You really are amazing, do you know that?" He stated. Antonio just nodded.

"Of course." He answered. "I liked working on it. It gave me a better idea behind the guy that created the tech. I figured that it might help me with the Black Box."

"Has it?" Jayden asked him.

"I got a few ideas that might help." Antonio told him. "Hopefully I'll have it ready soon."

"You've really been great you know." Jayden replied, looking to him. "Not just with the tech and the fighting. I mean, with...everything else."

"You're welcome." Antonio assured him. Just then, Jayden looked up and noticed something hanging down. It was mistletoe.

Looking to Antonio, even though he was far from through everything the year had thrown at him, he could feel that same feeling in his chest once again, the one that told him that was where he wanted to be. He started to lean forward, at which Antonio started to do the same, meeting him in a long, soft kiss.

"I really can't tell you how important it is that you haven't given up on me." Jayden told him. Antonio just looked back to him and smiled.

"I never would." He replied.

In a corner, just out of sight, Mike was just putting away his morpher after using it to grow the mistletoe into view, and smiled. Emily was beside him, also beaming brightly.

"Do you think they're back together?" She whispered to him.

"I don't know." Mike replied honestly. "But it didn't hurt giving them a nudge in the right direction did it?"

Meanwhile, over in a hospital, in New Zealand, a man walked into the reception area, carrying a box. He stopped at the desk.

He was a tall, quite muscular man, with tanned skin. He was wearing a black Metallica T-shirt, and tight blue jeans. He had long, dark hair, and dark brown eyes. He looked to the receptionist.

"Hello, I'm here to see Jane Doe." He told her. Brad had been the surfer that had found the girl unconscious on the beach. She had no wallet, or any other form of identification, and so for now, she was still considered a Jane Doe.

"Can you be more specific?" She asked him.

"She was found unconscious on a beach a few miles from the mainland." He told her. "I brought her in."

"Ah, I know the one." She told him. "I'm sorry sir, but she is still in a coma. We're not allowed to let anyone into the room but family."

"But no one knows who her family is." He reminded her. "Hell, no one even knows who she is."

"I'm sorry sir, but..."

"Fine, then...please just give her this." He told her, handing over the package. "My cell phone's the emergency contact. Could you call when she wakes up?"

"What's going on here?" A doctor asked as he arrived. The receptionist just looked to him.

"This is the gentleman who brought in the Jane Doe in room 8." She told him. "He wanted to see her, but..."

"Well, normally it isn't allowed, but as long as you are supervised I can't see the harm." The doctor told him. "Just remember, this never happened."

"I understand." Brad replied with a smile as he took the parcel back from the receptionist. The doctor led him down the hall.

"Well, I know it's Boxing Day now, but no one should be alone for the holidays." The doctor replied. "So, what is the girl to you if you don't mind me asking?"

"I just want to know she'll be alright." He said honestly as the doctor took him into the room. There, lying on the bed, was the mysterious stranger that he had never met or spoken to, but that had suddenly become one of the sole thoughts on his mind since he had found her.

She had been cleaned up, and was under the blankets. Were it not for the machines keeping track of her vitals, anyone would have thought she was just sleeping. He came over to her, opening the package and pulling out a light brown teddy bear, with a red ribbon around its neck. He looked to her as he placed it on her bedside table.

"I know it's late, but Merry Christmas." He said gently, placing a hand on her arm. He didn't know why, but despite the way he had found her, he could just tell that she was strong enough to pull through. There was something about her that just told him she had someone out there that needed her. The feeling in his gut told him this was far from the end of her journey.

Fin.


End file.
